Titan mix
Call Of Duty with robots, rubbish graphics, doesn’t run at 1080p. This is all I’ve heard about Titanfall lately, but having played the beta all I can say is I haven’t enjoyed a first person shooter as much as this for a long time. For a start I think the game looks excellent, but the speed and movement are were this game really shines. What we have here is not a Call Of Duty clone but a mixture of Call Of Duty, Halo, Unreal Tournament, Mirror’s Edge, Transformers, and Dark Souls (maybe not).

Just a quick mention about Souls having an easy mode, when you have had about 50 playthroughs of the game like me, this game turns from the hardest game you will play to the easiest game you will play… roll on March!MARKYxC (gamertage/PSN ID)

Seven days of Persona
After successfully invading my life, I have somehow managed to spend 164 hours on Persona 4 Golden since I grabbed it during the 12 Days of Christmas. After finishing all the content (epilogue, super secret boss, Reaper, Izanagi-no-Okami, Hollow Forest, max social link run) I’m totally burnt out. But I’m still craving more! It’s just such a fantastic game!

So, besides Persona 3 Portable, can GC recommend some really good (preferably ones with a turn-based battle system like Persona) role-playing games for the PS Vita? They can be PSP games, just as long as they are on the PS Vita store. Thanks.ar1speedboy

GC: Persona is one of a number of Shin Megami Tensei spin-offs, but most of them are on other formats. If it is just the turn-based combat you’re after though then try Disgaea 3, which is on the PS Vita store.

Downloading presently
My girlfriend, bless her, attached a £15 eShop card to my Valentine’s Day card (she was thoroughly rewarded with a steak meal). As I’ve only had my 3DS for a couple of months, I was wondering if there are any downloadable games for the system worth playing. I’m open to absolutely anything. Any recommendations from GC and readers would be appreciated.Chris Tandy

The legend of Abilink
RE: GalacticNorth, Mark Stanley, and Bravely Default. If you want, you can add me on 3DS (friend code: 1821-9915-6878). I’ve nearly finished Bravely Default and linking to me might be useful. I’ve got a limit break posted online whereby if you use my summon during a battle, your whole party will get a large boost of HP and MP, and also an additional 2 BP each. It’s a great move when you’re in trouble in a tough fight. Most people online are posting attacking summons. So I thought I’d post a healing one.

I haven’t actually used the Abilink function really, but you might look into how to use that. I think it’s something along the lines of, if you Abilink to a 3DS friend who has already unlocked some higher level skills, you can use them too. My characters have opened nearly every ability in the game.

So again, linking to me, and/or indeed Dark Anima X, might be helpful to you. That said, you might feel doing this undermines the enjoyment to be had from your own experience of character progression and opening the skills independently. Either way, enjoy! It’s a super game. And if you’re Mario Karters, maybe see you trackside some time. Thanks DAX for Friday! You won that round.TheRunawayTrain

Freedom From compromise
If I may weigh in with my perspective on the whole Dark Souls difficulty debate that seems to have once again reared its head, I’d like to say that I get why it’s such a divisive issue for people.

On the one hand, I completely understand why some people would at least want the option of an easier difficulty setting. I love the atmosphere created by the game’s aesthetics, use of audio and creature and environment design (I’ll never forget the first time I made it down the Great Hollow and emerged into Ash Lake’s subtle beauty), and it does bug me that there is much of the game I’m never likely to see simply because I don’t have the necessary time, patience or skill to overcome the game’s challenges (cue Dara Ó Briain reference that’s been made in the past). If there was an option for an easier difficulty, even if it just meant that more checkpoints were put in place, I very likely would use it.

However, I also acknowledge that to lower the difficulty of Dark Souls would be… well… kind of missing the point. I believe I once described the game as ‘immensely irritating’ the first time I played it, and in some respects I still stand by that view. However, I understand that the challenge is constructed with clear intent behind it, and that with gradual understanding of the combat mechanics (coupled with some aspects of trial-and-error, which was why I was always irritated by the game) very little about the game was intrinsically broken or unfair. If anything, the challenge adds to the atmosphere and immersion of the game; you’re supposed to feel like you’re stuck in an evil world, facing almost-insurmountable odds, yet the world is still very much depending on your ability to shoulder the burden of saving it. It’s actually a great example of expertly marrying gameplay and narrative, something I haven’t seen done so well in games since the first Metroid Prime.

One thing I will say though is that I do wish the Souls games were more accessible, which is not the same as saying the difficulty should be lowered. A lot of times in Dark Souls I found myself completely stumped as to what some stats even meant or the function of certain items, with the manual being no help and the game doing a terrible job of explaining itself. There’s a difference between leaving some things for the player to discover on their own and just leaving them stranded, and all too often I found Dark Souls crossed that line. I’m sorry, but when I have to look up a wiki or read somebody’s walkthrough just for even the most basic information about a stat or item, stuff that should be self-explanatory or given a quick run-down by the game itself, it just ruins the game for me. A better means of explaining itself without completely hand-holding the player would be appreciated in Dark Souls II.

Yeah, in spite of never actually beating the first game, I still plan on trying the sequel, for one reason alone; I admire From Software’s integrity and willingness to stick to their guns, making the games that they want to make without microtransactions or mass-market pandering (not that there’s anything wrong with either of those, but as with just about everything else the industry at large has completely missed the point of those reasonable ideas and abused them). I want to encourage the development of more games with a clear, tight focus like Dark Souls, and if one extra sale helps in any way I’ll gladly give my money to From.Andrew Middlemas

GC: That is just the sort of thing Dark Souls II aims to address.

Still behind
I recently wrote about my attitude change to PlayStation and Sony. I need to now speak about my changed view to Xbox and Microsoft. They have botched the operation system on Xbox One and the update does not go anyway far enough.

No option to change resolution beyond 720 or 1080p?! No dolby 5.1 output on optical still. Still limited options in regards to hard drive, the list goes on. Microsoft need to give better value for Xbox Live, virtually no demos; most games have no trial option. No option for free-to-play games!

They need to pull their finger out, they’re trailing badly against PlayStation 4. They need to man up and sort it out.Johnnyskullhead

Blame multiplayer
On the subject of perspectives. I tend to find first person leads to more direct, responsive action. A lot of third person games are hindered in their control mechanics by the fact that they have to make the avatar move realistically in animation terms. Especially when the player is changing direction suddenly, climbing over obstacles and interacting with objects.

First person games can just have you character move instantly. This is because they don’t have to worry about animation cycles. Check out how ridiculous most first person avatars look to other players in deathmatches. Nothing like as smooth and natural as a character in a third person game.

To put it simply, if you press jump in a first person game you character will instantly jump. If the game was third person there would be a slight delay before the jump while the characters legs performed a realistic looking leap. It could be instant but then your character would look like Mario, instantly springing into the air.

It’s also why there hasn’t really ever been more popular third person multiplayer games. They’re just more fiddly and less responsive. Gears Of War got away with a lot by making heavy use of cover compared to the running-around-like-mad antics of Call Of Duty.

It’d be a mistake to think that most games could have their perspectives changed without it drastically affecting the controls and style of gameplay. Especially Mirror’s Edge.

So I think the decline in third person action has coincided with the increase in competitive multiplayer games and the industry striving to make things look as real as possible.PjDonnelli

Third person puzzle
I enjoyed the Reader’s Feature on third person adventure games this weekend (thanks for my mention, Tim F). A number of excellent third person games, in particular on PlayStation 3, were discussed in the Underbox.

It was interesting that Portal was also mentioned. For me, Portal 2 has come closest to matching that feeling of the original Tomb Raider, when you first enter a new tomb – or test chamber – look around and just take it all in. The difference is that Portal is all puzzle-solving, with just a little exploration between chambers.

Uncharted’s frequent hints can be switched off but it also leads you through large sections of the game by giving Nathan a sidekick, an increasingly popular mechanic. Other games have their take on Batman’s detective mode. Exploration is often guided by maps, objective markers and glowing interactive objects.

I still enjoy these games. Just let us have at least one game in the mould of a proper Tomb Raider. Zelda was mentioned too. I haven’t owned a Nintendo system since the N64, and only ever played a few hours of Ocarina Of Time, but I am interested in finding out what I’ve been missing.Craig
Currently playing: Sine Mora, Outlast.

Suggestions in person
Good feature by Tim F this weekend, third person action adventure games are my favourite genre too. I’ve played and enjoyed many of the games he mentioned but some others I liked, which he may or may not have played, include Darksiders 1 and 2, Batman: Arkham Asylum and Arkham City, Castlevania: Lords Of Shadow (but it’s imminent sequel sucks apparently), Enslaved, and Brothers: A Tale Of Two Sons.

The last one is particularly recommended if he’s more into puzzle-solving than combat. I enjoyed the recent Tomb Raider reboot but now that Lara Croft’s origins have been established in that game I’m hoping the sequel will be more like the classic Tomb Raiders of the past, with more puzzle-solving and tomb-exploring and less combat.

I know the writer stated he hadn’t got a PlayStation 3 but he really should look into getting one on the cheap if he can because Naughty Dog’s Uncharted series and last years The Last Of Us need to be experienced if you’re a third person adventure game fan.dyniner(PSN ID)

Too much action, not enough adventure
In response to Tim F’s thought provoking feature on third person games, I too much prefer the genre to first person. I think a third person view helps a player’s escapism more, because they can see – in the game world – that they have become someone else.

I also lament the move away from the adventure part of the third person action adventure genre. The Tomb Raider reboot was good, but it was a good cover shooter. These days there’s too much shooting and an overemphasis on heavily scripted action in my estimation,

Tim F asked for our favourite third person adventure’s. Maybe God Of War doesn’t count because it has too much combat but I definitely loved Kratos’s first journey. As I’ve mentioned before on these pages Manhunt and Tomb Raider Legend were other third person outings that I found special.

Resident Evil 4 and the first two Dead Space games had enough exploring and puzzles to qualify as true action adventure games. I’ll definitely check out Sphinx And The Cursed Mummy now Tim F has brought my attention to it.msv858 (Twitter)

The thought that counts
Great Reader’s Feature Tim F. There are too many first person games around at the moment but that’s not to say that I don’t like them, because I do like most, but I love it when your given a choice on how you want to play certain games. This is where Bethesda excel as developers for me. They give you a choice of play perspective.

Both Fallout 3 and Skyrim are made superbly accessible by the way you can switch from first to third person perspective at any time during play depending on the scenario. I love raiding the tombs in Skyrim in first person perspective (very atmospheric) …but I love how you can easily switch to a third person perspective if for example… you want to plan out how to stealthily tackle a room full of bandits in the next cavern, or even just take in more of the game world whilst playing.

It’s a fantastic control option in these two games and I haven’t seen it pulled off this well in many other games, and it’s probably the reason you don’t see it much anyway… it must be hard to find a good balance between perspectives without totally ruining the experience altogether.

I know you can switch views in the earlier Hitman games but it doesn’t feel as intuitive, and nowhere near as functional as it does in Fallout 3 and Skyrim. Bethesda have got this feature just right to me because sometimes it can drastically alter the gameplay… always a nice option to have if you’re on an extended play session.

I would love to see more developers include this player choice and way of playing games in the next generation of titles.RedDotDinx (PSN ID)/Towy (GC ID)

GC: Really? Most people would characterise Bethesda’s third person views as pretty shoddy. Especially in Fallout 3. Although the idea is certainly a good one.

Inbox also-rans
Do you really need to play 999: 9 persons, 9 Hours, 9 Doors to play Virtue’s Last Reward? Is it a sequel of 999 or are reviewers just giving guidance?Lord Leotard

GC: It is a direct sequel, but you don’t have to have played it to understand what’s going on in Virtue’s Last Reward. We would advise it though, if only because 999 is slightly the better game.

Never been a huge fan of Call Of Duty but loving the Titanfall beta… I’ve even managed to shoot something. Add me if you’d like to increase your points tally by repeatedly shooting me from mid air.Lifewasted1973 (gamertag)/Life-Wasted-1973 (PSN ID) – previously foofighter1973

Rather belatedly but no less excitedly, I’ve just discovered that a free 20-minute slice of downloadable content was released for To The Moon on New Year’s Eve. Never mind your Titanfalls and your Calls Of Duty – this should have been a feature story, GC! Can’t wait to give it a whirl.Dynamite Headdy (@2Tweet2BeSour)

GC: Wow, we knew nothing about that.

A work colleague told me that a studio in Cambridge is working on a Transformers game and one of the employees was taking some of his work home with him for bug-testing. Whether this is Rise Of The Dark Spark or something else entirely I don’t know. But at least you can send your GC hounds sniffing for clues..Oni-Samurai (PSN ID)

GC: It’s almost certainly massively multiplayer online game Transformers Universe, by Cambridge company Jagex. Here’s a trailer if you’re interested:

This week’s Hot Topic
The subject for this weekend’s Inbox was suggested by reader Jonny H., who asks what’s the stupidest mistake you’ve ever made in a game?

It can be any kind of mistake you like, from using the wrong item at a pivotal moment, to deleting a game by mistake, killing somebody you weren’t supposed to, or choosing the wrong menu option. Whether it was hardware or software what is your biggest regret and how did you deal with it?

What state of mind where you in at the time it happened and do you think the blame is entirely yours, or is it shared because of some flaw in the game or console?